Finance
GRAIL Reports Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results
Q3 U.S. Galleri Revenue Grew 28% Year-Over-Year to $32.6 Million
Q3 Galleri Tests Sold Grew 39% Year-Over-Year to More Than 45,000
Galleri PMA Submission to FDA Now Anticipated in Q126
Cash Position of More Than $850 Million Includes Recently Completed Private Placement
MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — GRAIL, Inc. (Nasdaq: GRAL), a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early when it can be cured, today reported business and financial results for the third quarter of 2025.
Total revenue in the third quarter grew 26% year-over-year to $36.2 million, and Galleri revenue grew 29% year-over-year to $32.8 million. U.S. Galleri revenue was $32.6 million, representing 28% growth year-over-year. Net loss for the quarter was $89.0 million. Gross loss was $13.7 million. Non-GAAP adjusted gross profit was $20.0 million, and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $(71.7) million.1
“We remain very pleased by Galleri’s commercial uptake with 39% growth in Galleri test volume in the third quarter. Our teams continue to build awareness of Galleri among providers and patients, and recent data from our registrational PATHFINDER 2 study adds to the evidence base,” said Bob Ragusa, Chief Executive Officer at GRAIL. “We have also made key recent strides in opportunities beyond the U.S., led by our strategic collaboration with Samsung to bring Galleri to key Asian markets, as well as Galleri’s commercial introduction in Canada. Looking ahead, we anticipate completing our PMA submission for Galleri to the FDA in the first quarter of 2026.”
For the three months ended September 30, 2025, as compared to the three months ended September 30, 2024, GRAIL reported:
- Revenue: Total revenue, comprised of screening and development services revenue, was $36.2 million, an increase of $7.5 million or 26%.
- Net loss: Net loss was $89.0 million, an improvement of $36.7 million or 29%.
- Gross loss: Gross loss was $13.7 million, an improvement of $8.5 million or 38%.
- Adjusted gross profit1: Adjusted gross profit was $20.0 million, an increase of $8.2 million or 69%.
- Adjusted EBITDA1: Adjusted EBITDA was $(71.7) million, an improvement of $36.5 million or 34%.
- Cash position: Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term marketable securities totaled $547.1 million as of September 30, 2025.
Recent business highlights include:
- Positive results from PATHFINDER 2 and SYMPLIFY studies add to the evidence base for the effectiveness of multi-cancer early detection.
- Positive detailed performance and safety results from the pre-specified analysis of the first approximately 25,000 participants in the registrational PATHFINDER 2 study were presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (“ESMO”) Congress 2025 in October:
- Adding Galleri to recommended screenings for breast, cervical, colorectal, and lung cancers (USPSTF A and B recommendations) led to a more than seven-fold increase in the number of cancers found within a year
- Galleri detected approximately three times as many cancers when added to standard-of-care screening for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers (USPSTF A, B, and C recommendations)
- Approximately three-quarters of the cancers detected by Galleri do not have standard of care screening options
- More than half of the new cancers detected by Galleri were stage 1 or 2 and more than two-thirds were detected at stages 1-3
- Galleri positive predictive value (“PPV”), or the likelihood of receiving a cancer diagnosis following a positive test result, was 61.6%
- Specificity was 99.6%, translating to a false positive rate of 0.4%
- Cancer signal of origin accuracy was 92%, leading to efficient diagnostic workups
- Diagnostic resolution took a median of 46 days, and only 0.6% of all participants had an invasive procedure and invasive procedures were two times more common in participants with cancer than in those without
- No serious, study-related adverse events were reported
- Positive long-term results from an extended registry follow-up of the SYMPLIFY study with the University of Oxford were presented at the Early Detection of Cancer Conference (“EDCC”) in October. A previous primary analysis, published in The Lancet Oncology, followed participants until diagnostic resolution or up to nine months and demonstrated Galleri’s PPV was 75.5%. Patients reported to have a false positive Galleri result were followed for 24 months in national cancer registries for England and Wales.
- The updated analysis presented at EDCC showed that approximately one-third of participants initially believed to have a false positive result were later diagnosed with cancer during the subsequent follow up period
- This reduction in false positives resulted in an increase of Galleri’s PPV in this symptomatic population to 84.2%
- Announced a collaboration with Medcan, a global leader in proactive health and wellness services, to provide access to the Galleri test at Medcan’s clinics. Additionally, Manulife Canada announced it now offers access to Galleri, in partnership with Medcan, to eligible life insurance customers through its innovative Manulife Vitality program.
- Announced a strategic collaboration with Samsung in October to bring the Galleri test to key Asian markets. Subject to execution of definitive agreements, the parties will work as exclusive partners to commercialize Galleri in Korea, and possibly other key Asian markets, including Japan and Singapore. In addition, the parties intend to explore potential additional strategic and operational collaborations. Samsung has also agreed to make an equity investment of $110 million in GRAIL, subject to closing conditions.
- Completed a private placement of equity in October resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $325 million, before deducting placement agents’ fees and other expenses. Including proceeds from this transaction, GRAIL’s cash position of more than $850 million provides runway into 2030.
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1 See “Non-GAAP Disclosure” and the associated reconciliations for important information about our use of non-GAAP measures. |
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Conference Call and Webcast
A webcast and conference call will be held today, Nov. 12, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. PT / 4:30 p.m. ET. Individuals interested in listening to the conference call may access it on the investor relations section of GRAIL’s website at investors.grail.com.
A replay of the webcast will be available on GRAIL’s website for 30 days.
GRAIL Analyst Day 2025 Tomorrow
GRAIL will host its Analyst Day 2025 tomorrow, Nov. 13, 2025, at the Company’s central laboratories in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina beginning at 8:00 a.m. PT / 11:00 a.m. ET.
The live webcast and recorded replay will be available at the investor relations section of GRAIL’s website at investors.grail.com and at https://grail-analyst-day-2025.open-exchange.net/registration.
About GRAIL
GRAIL, Inc. is a healthcare company whose mission is to detect cancer early, when it can be cured. GRAIL is focused on alleviating the global burden of cancer by using the power of next-generation sequencing, population-scale clinical studies, and state-of-the-art machine learning, software, and automation to detect and identify multiple deadly cancer types in earlier stages. GRAIL’s targeted methylation-based platform can support the continuum of care for screening and precision oncology, including multi-cancer early detection in symptomatic patients, risk stratification, minimal residual disease detection, biomarker subtyping, treatment and recurrence monitoring. GRAIL is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA with locations in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and the United Kingdom. GRAIL’s common stock is listed under the ticker symbol “GRAL” on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.
For more information, visit grail.com.
About Galleri®
The Galleri multi-cancer early detection test is a proactive tool to screen for cancer. With a simple blood draw, the Galleri test can identify DNA shed by cancer cells, which can act as a unique “fingerprint” of cancer, to help screen for some of the deadliest cancers that don’t have recommended screening today, such as pancreatic, esophageal, ovarian, liver, and others. The Galleri test can be used to screen for cancer before a person becomes symptomatic, when cancer may be more easily treated and potentially curable. The Galleri test can indicate the origin of the cancer, giving healthcare providers a roadmap of where to explore further. The Galleri test requires a prescription from a licensed healthcare provider and should be used in addition to recommended cancer screenings such as mammography, colonoscopy, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, or cervical cancer screening. The Galleri test is recommended for adults with an elevated risk for cancer, such as those aged 50 or older.
For more information, visit galleri.com.
Laboratory/Test Information
GRAIL’s clinical laboratory is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) and accredited by the College of American Pathologists. The Galleri test was developed, and its performance characteristics were determined by GRAIL. The Galleri test has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. GRAIL’s clinical laboratory is regulated under CLIA to perform high-complexity testing. The Galleri test is intended for clinical purposes.
Non-GAAP Disclosure
In addition to our financial results provided throughout this press release that are determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), this press release also includes financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with GAAP. Our non-GAAP financial disclosure includes Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) and Adjusted EBITDA. We encourage investors to carefully consider our results under GAAP in conjunction with our supplemental non-GAAP information and the reconciliation between these presentations.
- Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) is a key performance measure that our management uses to assess our operational performance, as it represents the results of revenues and direct costs, which are key components of our operations. We believe that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful to investors and other interested parties in analyzing our financial performance because it reflects the gross profitability of our operations, and excludes the costs associated with our sales and marketing, product development, general and administrative activities, and depreciation and amortization, and the impact of our financing methods and income taxes.
We calculate Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) as gross profit (loss) (as defined below) adjusted to exclude amortization of intangible assets and stock-based compensation allocated to cost of revenue. Adjusted Gross Profit (Loss) should be viewed as a measure of operating performance that is a supplement to, and not a substitute for, operating income or loss from operations, net earnings or loss and other GAAP measures of income (loss) or profitability. The following table presents a reconciliation of gross loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted Gross Profit.
- Adjusted EBITDA is a key performance measure that our management uses to assess our financial performance and is also used for internal planning and forecasting purposes. We believe that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful to investors and other interested parties in analyzing our financial performance because it provides a comparable overview of our operations across historical periods. In addition, we believe that providing Adjusted EBITDA, together with a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA, helps investors make comparisons between our company and other companies that may have different capital structures, different tax rates, different operational and ownership histories, and/or different forms of employee compensation.
Adjusted EBITDA is used by our management team as an additional measure of our performance for purposes of business decision-making, including managing expenditures. Period-to-period comparisons of Adjusted EBITDA help our management identify additional trends in our financial results that may not be shown solely by period-to-period comparisons of net income (loss) or income (loss) from operations. Our management recognizes that Adjusted EBITDA has inherent limitations because of the excluded items, and may not be directly comparable to similarly titled metrics used by other companies.
We calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude interest (income) expense, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation, impairment of goodwill and intangible assets, and amortization of intangible assets, which represent intangible assets resulting from pushdown accounting, legal and professional services fees related to Illumina’s acquisition of the Company in August 2021 (“the Acquisition”) and corresponding antitrust litigation, including compliance with the hold separate arrangements imposed by the European Commission, and our divestment from Illumina, restructuring charges, and stock-based compensation. We believe that the items subject to these further adjustments are not indicative of our ongoing operations due to their nature, especially considering the impact of certain items as a result of the Acquisition.
Adjusted EBITDA should be viewed as a measure of operating performance that is a supplement to, and not a substitute for, operating income or loss from operations, net earnings or loss and other U.S. GAAP measures of income (loss). Additionally, it is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow for management’s discretionary use, as it does not consider certain cash requirements such as interest and tax payments. Further, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA may differ from similarly titled measures used by other companies and therefore may not be comparable among companies. The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA on a consolidated basis.
Full reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures is set forth in tabular form below.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would,” or “will,” the negative of these terms, and other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about us, may include expectations and projections of our future financial performance, future tests or products, patient awareness of our products, technology, clinical studies, safety results, regulatory compliance, potential market opportunity, anticipated growth strategies, restructuring costs, sufficiency of cash on hand to finance our business, cost savings, budgets and strategies, satisfaction of closing conditions and negotiation of definitive agreements in the Samsung collaboration, and growth and anticipated trends in our business.
These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those factors and numerous associated risks discussed under the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2024 and in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2025, June 30, 2025 and September 30, 2025. Moreover, we operate in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially and adversely from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make.
Forward-looking statements relate to the future and, accordingly, are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Although we believe the expectations and projections expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Except to the extent required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform our prior statements to actual results or revised expectations or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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GRAIL, Inc. |
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Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets |
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(unaudited) |
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(amounts in thousands, except share and per share data) |
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September 30, |
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December 31, |
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Assets |
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Current assets: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ 126,892 |
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$ 214,234 |
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Short-term marketable securities |
413,238 |
|
549,236 |
|
Accounts receivable, net |
16,282 |
|
20,312 |
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Supplies |
18,390 |
|
18,632 |
|
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
14,579 |
|
17,447 |
|
Total current assets |
589,381 |
|
819,861 |
|
Property and equipment, net |
56,180 |
|
69,061 |
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Operating lease right-of-use assets |
56,061 |
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66,373 |
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Restricted cash |
6,974 |
|
3,349 |
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Intangible assets, net |
1,885,140 |
|
2,016,890 |
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Other non-current assets |
7,295 |
|
7,773 |
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Total assets |
$ 2,601,031 |
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$ 2,983,307 |
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Liabilities and stockholders’ equity |
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Current liabilities: |
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Accounts payable |
$ 3,407 |
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$ 4,844 |
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Accrued liabilities |
58,076 |
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57,241 |
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Operating lease liabilities, current portion |
14,022 |
|
13,260 |
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Other current liabilities |
1,928 |
|
1,580 |
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Total current liabilities |
77,433 |
|
76,925 |
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Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion |
44,568 |
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54,881 |
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Deferred tax liability, net |
236,265 |
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345,860 |
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Other non-current liabilities |
2,802 |
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2,236 |
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Total liabilities |
361,068 |
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479,902 |
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Preferred stock, par value of $0.001 per share; 50,000,000 shares |
— |
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— |
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Common stock $0.001 par value per share, 1,500,000,000 shares |
36 |
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34 |
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Additional paid-in capital |
12,349,976 |
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12,305,250 |
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Accumulated other comprehensive income |
2,456 |
|
1,451 |
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Accumulated deficit |
(10,112,505) |
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(9,803,330) |
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Total stockholders’ equity |
2,239,963 |
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2,503,405 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity |
$ 2,601,031 |
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$ 2,983,307 |
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GRAIL, Inc. |
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Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations |
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(unaudited) |
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(amounts in thousands, except share and per share data) |
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Three Months Ended |
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Nine Months Ended |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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Revenue: |
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Screening revenue |
$ 32,807 |
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$ 25,374 |
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$ 96,319 |
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$ 77,076 |
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Development services revenue |
3,387 |
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3,278 |
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7,256 |
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10,267 |
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Total revenue |
36,194 |
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28,652 |
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103,575 |
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87,343 |
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Costs and operating expenses: |
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Cost of screening revenue (exclusive of |
15,910 |
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15,970 |
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52,379 |
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45,481 |
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Cost of development services revenue |
544 |
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1,442 |
|
2,216 |
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3,499 |
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Cost of revenue — amortization of intangible |
33,473 |
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33,473 |
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100,417 |
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100,417 |
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Research and development |
48,647 |
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78,231 |
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148,898 |
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274,052 |
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Sales and marketing |
25,503 |
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35,625 |
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89,021 |
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123,433 |
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General and administrative |
37,408 |
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47,418 |
|
120,396 |
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171,745 |
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Goodwill and intangible assets impairment |
— |
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— |
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28,000 |
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1,420,936 |
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Total costs and operating expenses |
161,485 |
|
212,159 |
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541,327 |
|
2,139,563 |
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Loss from operations |
(125,291) |
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(183,507) |
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(437,752) |
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(2,052,220) |
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Other income: |
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Interest income |
6,107 |
|
11,661 |
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20,695 |
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17,367 |
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Other income (expense), net |
466 |
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(561) |
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(929) |
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(514) |
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Total other income, net |
6,573 |
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11,100 |
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19,766 |
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16,853 |
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Loss before income taxes |
(118,718) |
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(172,407) |
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(417,986) |
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(2,035,367) |
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Benefit from income taxes |
29,741 |
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46,719 |
|
108,811 |
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105,428 |
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Net loss |
$ (88,977) |
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$ (125,688) |
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$ (309,175) |
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$ (1,929,939) |
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Net loss per share — Basic and Diluted |
$ (2.46) |
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$ (3.94) |
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$ (8.73) |
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$ (61.61) |
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Weighted-average shares of common stock |
36,124,256 |
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31,880,054 |
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35,415,266 |
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31,326,117 |
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GRAIL, Inc. |
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Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures |
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(unaudited) |
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(amounts in thousands) |
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Three Months Ended |
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Nine Months Ended |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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Gross loss (1) |
$ (13,733) |
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$ (22,233) |
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$ (51,437) |
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$ (62,054) |
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Amortization of intangible assets |
33,473 |
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33,473 |
|
100,417 |
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100,417 |
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Stock-based compensation |
271 |
|
578 |
|
1,450 |
|
1,522 |
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Adjusted Gross Profit |
$ 20,011 |
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$ 11,818 |
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$ 50,430 |
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$ 39,885 |
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(1) |
Gross loss is calculated as total revenue less cost of screening revenue (exclusive of amortization of intangible assets), cost of development services revenue and cost of revenue—amortization of intangible assets. |
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GRAIL, Inc. |
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Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures |
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(unaudited) |
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(amounts in thousands) |
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Three Months Ended |
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Nine Months Ended |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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September 30, |
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Net loss |
$ (88,977) |
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$ (125,688) |
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$ (309,175) |
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$ (1,929,939) |
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Adjusted to exclude the following: |
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Interest income |
(6,107) |
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(11,661) |
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(20,695) |
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(17,367) |
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Benefit from income tax expense |
(29,741) |
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(46,719) |
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(108,811) |
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(105,428) |
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Amortization of intangible assets (1) |
34,583 |
|
34,583 |
|
103,750 |
|
103,750 |
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Depreciation |
4,399 |
|
4,647 |
|
13,686 |
|
14,865 |
|
Goodwill and intangible impairment (2) |
— |
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— |
|
28,000 |
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1,420,936 |
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Illumina/GRAIL merger & divestiture |
— |
|
226 |
|
— |
|
22,158 |
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Stock-based compensation(4) |
14,139 |
|
17,449 |
|
44,518 |
|
72,502 |
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Restructuring(5) |
— |
|
19,007 |
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(34) |
|
19,007 |
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Adjusted EBITDA |
$ (71,704) |
|
$ (108,156) |
|
$ (248,761) |
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$ (399,516) |
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(1) |
Represents amortization of intangible assets, including developed technology and trade names. |
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(2) |
Reflects impairment of goodwill and intangible assets recognized as a result of the Acquisition. |
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(3) |
Represents legal and professional services costs associated with the Acquisition and corresponding antitrust litigation, including compliance with the hold separate arrangements imposed by the European Commission, and legal and professional services costs associated with the divestiture. |
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(4) |
Represents all stock-based compensation recognized on our standalone financial statements for the periods presented. |
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(5) |
Represents employee severance, benefits, payroll taxes, and other costs associated with the Restructuring Plan. |
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SOURCE GRAIL, Inc.
Finance
Hong Kong reasserts role as safe haven in global finance amid Iran conflict
The seven-week military conflict in the Middle East will redefine Hong Kong’s role as a global financial centre, positioning the city as a safe harbour for capital and investments.
Anecdotal evidence suggested that more banks had turned to Hong Kong to protect their businesses and committed themselves to expanding their presence in the city. At the same time, inquiries about adding allocations of mainland Chinese assets among global investors had recently increased, potentially enlarging the customer base for the city’s asset-management industry and family offices and driving demand for offshore yuan-linked financial products.
For years, Hong Kong’s status as a financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region has been challenged by Dubai, which has risen to prominence as a gateway linking Asia and Europe in capital flows, transport and logistics. With the war destabilising the Middle East – at one point forcing the closure of the Dubai International Airport and sending stocks in the Gulf region plunging – Hong Kong has re-emerged due to its geographical location, a pegged exchange rate, free capital flows and support from China’s economic strength.
“In that context, China and Hong Kong are attracting renewed attention,” said Gary Dugan, CEO of The Global CIO Office in Dubai, which advises family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals globally. “There is growing interest among some clients in increasing exposure to China and Hong Kong. It is less a simple flight to safety and more a reassessment of where investors see relative value, policy consistency and long-term strategic opportunity.”
Dubai now relies on trade, tourism and finance as the pillars of its economy, reflecting the success of its four-decade diversification away from oil for sustained growth. The United Arab Emirates city is home to Jebel Ali Free Zone, the biggest free-trade zone in the Middle East, and the second-largest stock market in the region, with combined market values of US$1.01 trillion. The city, also a global hub for gold trading, has a population of 4 million, about 80 per cent of which are foreign expatriates. Dubai’s economy grew by 4.7 per cent in the January-to-September period last year.
Finance
Budget crisis is top concern for MPS leader Cassellius | Opinion
Before seeking a new referendum MPS needs to rebuild trust in the community through completing state audits, putting in place controls to prevent overspending and routine reports to the public.
For MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, who just wrapped up her first year leading Milwaukee’s public school system, her tenure has been punctuated by some very big numbers.
The first is $252 million. That is the amount of new spending voters narrowly approved in an April 2024 referendum to support operations in Wisconsin’s largest school district. Just months later, MPS was rocked by revelations the district was months behind in filing key financial reports to the state, which led to former Superintendent Keith Posley’s resignation.
The second is $1 billion. MPS faces a deferred maintenance backlog exceeding $1 billion. The district’s enrollment has declined 30% over the last 30 years, leaving many schools at less than 50% full. That, in part, is driving a plan to close some schools and to improve others to help lower costs.
The final is $46 million, the deficit MPS was running for the 2024-25 school year, an unexpected shortfall which has led to hundreds of staff layoffs.
Getting the district’s accounting, budgeting and financial reporting back on track has dominated Cassellius’s first year at MPS. In an April 15 interview with the Journal Sentinel’s editorial board, she talked in detail about the challenges putting that into order and progress she sees in restoring transparency into its operations.
State funding and aging buildings create budget nightmares
Cassellius says state needs to keep up its share of school funding
In an interview with the Journal Sentinel editorial board, MPS leader Brenda Cassellius says budgets and buildings are her two top worries.
Cassellius said the on-going budget crisis is her top concern. She said the state’s failure to live up to its share of funding is exacerbating MPS’ budget woes. A group of school districts, teachers and parents filed suit against the state Legislature and its Joint Finance Committee claiming the current state funding system is unconstitutional and prevents schools from meeting students’ educational needs.
Funding for special education is especially critical. About 20% of MPS students have disabilities, almost twice the share of the city’s charter schools, and the average of 14% across Wisconsin.
“What’s keeping me up now, you know, is really just the budget crisis we’re in, with not only this year but multiple years going out without additional state aid, we’ve been not getting funding for what our needs are for our students, and particularly our students with special needs,” she said.
Although the state budget increased special education funding to a 42% reimbursement rate, the actual rate has been about 35%. Another component to the budget headache is the age of MPS buildings. The average age is 85 years-old compared to 45 across the nation.
“We have just kicked this can down the curb or kicked it down the street or whatever you call it for too long. And it’s time that we really take on a serious conversation about the conditions of the learning environments in which we send our children,” she said. “Particularly in Milwaukee Public Schools, we serve the most vulnerable children. Children who have language barriers, children who have disabilities, children in high-concentrated poverty.”
What needs to happen before MPS seeks another referendum
Voters need to be comfortable MPS has made tough budget decisions
In an interview with Journal Sentinel editorial board, Brenda Cassellius said voters will need to see budget improvements before seeking more spending
Cassellius said MPS will definitely need to go back to voters for a new referendum in the future. In addition to the 2024 measure, voters approved an $87 million plan in 2020.
Before doing that, she said the district first needs to rebuild trust in the community through completing required state audits, putting into place controls to prevent overspending and routine reports to the school board and public about finances.
“I don’t think that the voters are going to want us to bring something forward until they feel comfortable that we have done the cleanup that is necessary,” she said. “And we’ve built the trust that we have the sufficient controls in place.”
In the interim, she’s hoping the state will meet its constitutional responsibility to adequately fund public schools.
“What the public expects is you know where the money is, you’re spending it as close as you can to children, you’re getting good on the promise around art, music, and PE, and the things the public said they wanted to fund,” Cassellius said. “And they want their kids to have so that they have a quality education and an excellent education in Milwaukee Public Schools, and that they had the right amount of staff that they actually need. In the school to be safe and to run a good operation.”
Rebuilding finance staff in wake of $46 million in overspending
MPS is rebuilding school finance staff in wake of reporting lapses
In an interview with the Journal Sentinel editorial board April 15, MPS superintendent discusses accountability for district’s financial problems.
The $46 million budget shortfall from the 2024-25 school year started coming into view last fall and was confirmed in mid-January. Cassellius noted that in addition to hiring a new superintendent, MPS also parted ways with its comptroller and CFO.
“We are really rebuilding the personnel and staff of the finance department. That is what’s critical, is having the right people in the right seats doing the work,” she said. “Also critical is making sure that you have the right controls in place. The audit findings found that we did not have proper controls in place and now we have those proper controls in place and when we find things we put new SOPs in place and that is what any business does.”
Identifying that shortfall, though painful, was the result of better accounting.
“Being three years behind in auditing means that you don’t have full sight on your actual revenues and expenditures. And so we have now full sight of our revenues and our expenditures and that’s why we were able to see this new deficit of $46 million,” she said. “And we still continue to work with DPI on those processes to make sure that every month we’re doing monthly to actuals and doing those accounting, reporting that to the board. In a way that is consumable to the public that they can understand.”
Jim Fitzhenry is the Ideas Lab Editor/Director of Community Engagement for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Reach him at jfitzhen@gannett.com or 920-993-7154.
Finance
Psychological shift unfolds in soft Aussie housing market: ‘Vendors feel pressure’
Property markets move in cycles, and with interest rates rising and other pressures like high fuel costs, some markets are clearly slowing down. Many first-home buyers who have only ever seen markets going up are conditioned to think that when purchasing, competition is always intense and decisions need to be made quickly.
In those times, buyers often feel they need to act fast, stretch their budget and secure a property at almost any cost. But things have definitely changed.
In a softer market, the dynamic shifts. Properties take longer to sell, competition thins, and it’s the vendors who begin to feel pressure.
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For buyers who understand how to navigate that change, the balance of power quickly moves in their favour. The opportunity is not simply to buy at a lower price. It is to negotiate from a position of strength.
If that’s you right now, these are the key skills first-home buyers need to take advantage of in softer market conditions.
The most important shift in a soft market is psychological. In a rising market, buyers often feel like they are competing for limited opportunities. In a softer market, the opposite is true. There are more properties available, fewer active buyers and less urgency overall. This gives buyers options.
When buyers understand that they are not competing with multiple parties on every property, their decision-making improves. They are more willing to walk away, compare opportunities and avoid overpaying. Negotiation strength comes from not needing to transact immediately. When that pressure is removed, buyers are able to engage more strategically.
One of the most common mistakes first-home buyers make is continuing to apply strategies that only work in rising markets. Auction urgency is a clear example. In strong markets, auctions often attract multiple bidders and create competitive tension. In softer conditions, properties are more likely to pass in, shifting the process away from a public bidding environment into a private negotiation.
This is where leverage increases.
Private negotiations allow buyers to introduce conditions that protect their position. These may include finance clauses, longer settlement periods or price adjustments based on due diligence. Opportunities that are rarely available in competitive markets become standard in softer ones.
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